Shadows and Darkness
by Numb3rsfan
Summary: An emergency signal from an unexplored planet reaches the Stargate Atrium.  An emergency expedition team is dispatched to investigate the signal. However things aren't as simple as they seem when the team is knocked out and awake on Deep Space Nine.
1. Shadows and Darkness Stats

**Title: **Shadows and Darkness.

**Author: **Numb3rsfan

**Crossover: **Yes, Star Trek Deep Space Nine crossover with Stargate, specifically the RPG site Stargate: The Next Generation.

**Warnings: **OOC, Crossover, Tragedy, Hurt/Comfort, Language

**Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Star Trek Deep Space Nine, nor do I own Stargate. The character's of Major Cypher Borodin and Captain Sara Cafferey do belong to me. The characters of Major Jason McCallister, Master Sergeant Joanne Rhodes and Major Sadie Ford belong to Jetta Windstar. The character of Major Nolan CarMichael (last name has been changed upon request of owner) belongs to Paul Etearna, The character of Captain Anthony Lowrey belongs to Anthony Lowrey, the character of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Thomson belongs to Robert Thomson, the character of Captain Steve Archer belongs to Steve Archer and the characters of Brigadier General Asid Mjolnir and Brigadier General David Eddings belong to Karl"13621" all SGTNG characters are used with permission.

**Summary: **An emergency signal from an unexplored planet reaches the Stargate Atrium. An emergency expedition team is dispatched to investigate the signal. Sounds simple right? However things aren't as simple as they seem when the team is knocked out and awake on Deep Space Nine.

**Author's Notes:** This is my first ever Crossover fic, not to mention my first ever Deep Space Nine fic, so please bare this in mind while reading. Also this contains the stat's only. Please go on to 'chapter 2' for the beginning of the story.'

If you would like to know more about the individual SGTNG character's, please visit our wiki at: sgtngdotwikiadotcom/wiki/Stargate_Wiki

(Please replace the 'dot' with the actual dots.)


	2. Chapter One: Distress Call

**Shadows and Darkness**

by

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter One: Distress Call

The Stargate Atrium, quite different from the original Stargate Command that had been under Cheyenne Mountain. An attack on the base and a hothead commander had basically all but destroyed the base; a warhead doing the actual damage. Many lives had been lost that day but thankfully the SGC teams had survived.

To replace the destroyed facility, the Stargate Atrium had been built. It was bigger than the original facility. Half of the building was underground, while a vast majority was above ground; one of the major differences was the presence of a garden basically in the middle of the compound.

In the larger mess hall Captain Sara Cafferey sat, trying to enjoy a bowl of ramen noodle soup and a glass of ice cold root beer. Sara had been the XO of SG-2, but a previous mission had caused all that to end. Now Sara was a team member on SG-3, but after coming down with a high fever two hours before SG-3 had to leave on a mission, Sara found herself grounded.

Across the room sat her old CO, Major Jason McCallister. Once upon a time Sara had feelings for the Major, feelings that she had thought he shared but the scene on the Pollen Planet* had really caused her to doubt herself and her feelings towards the Major.

Biting her lip Sara took her tray and walked to the trash. Dumping her empty bowl in the trash, Sara placed the tray on top of all of the others before she took her half drunk can of soda and approached Jason's table.

"Major McCallister, may I join you?" Sara asked. Only a few months ago Sara and Jason had been on a first name basis, using their ranks or last names only when they were in a hurry or if they had been using their radios. Now however, all that had changed.

Major Jason McCallister looked up from his meal, a highly nutritious beef stew and a glass of sweet tea.

"Captain Cafferey." Jason greeted, gesturing for Sara to occupy the seat directly across from him.

He watched Sara place her drink down before sliding in to the seat. The look on the Captain's face was something that one didn't normally see. It was the look of nervousness with just a hint of fear.

"Major I...I know we...talked...on the planet but..." Sara paused. Why was this so hard for her to explain? Was she having regrets or why she just embarrassed and or ashamed of her previous actions.

"Captain it's alright. You were not yourself, none of us were. I don't blame you for what happened. You just need to stop blaming yourself. The only thing I wish is that you would have talked with me before requesting the transfer to SG-3. I'm sure we could have worked something out but what's done is done, no need to think on the past any more, Captain." Jason said.

Sara looked up from where she had basically been studying the scratches on the table. Had Jason just more or less forgiven her or was this some sort of angle? "Most days thinking about that day is all I can do. I deeply regret everything that happened, and knowing that my attitude was basically the pollen talking doesn't help. I just...I hope that...despite everything that we can still be friends...Jason." Sara said.

The name that had once been easy and natural to roll off her tongue now felt foreign and icy, however that feeling didn't last for long.

Looking up in to the face of her previous commanding officer, Sara saw a small smile grace the side of his face.

"I'm sure we can Sara." Jason replied.

When Jason said that a huge wave of relief washed over Captain Cafferey. It was as if everything that had happened between them was now gone and all that remained was their newly repaired friendship.

All of a sudden their radios went off, the filtered voice of Brigadier General David Eddings filtered through.

_=^=Major Jason McCallister, Major Cypher Borodin and Captain Sara Cafferey please report to the Briefing Room on the double.=^=_

Grabbing her can, Sara finished off what was left of the root beer, tossing the can in the trash as she walked past, while Jason took his dishes to the trashcan as well.

At the entrance to the Mess, Sara did slow down and wait for Jason to catch up before the two officers, walking side-by-side headed for the Briefing Room.

In the rather large briefing room three men were gathered, each sitting at the briefing room table. Brigadier General David Eddings, the acting CO of the base since Brigadier General Asid Mjolnir had recently gone through an aneurism. Brigadier General David Eddings was different yet similar to Brigadier General Asid Mjolnir, who had won the respect and loyality of all of the men under his command through the countless missions and hard hours he had worked.

Two chairs down from David Eddings sat Major Nolan CarMichael, SG-3's CO. Nolan was a quiet man; leader of a team of people who prided themselves on trying to be the best of the best. Recently Nolan had recovered from being kidnapped and injured on the Pollen Planet, as he had just been cleared for duty that morning.

Two chairs down from him sat Major Cypher Borodin, the XO for AE-3, a team from Atlantis. The one major difference between Cypher and the two other gentlemen seated at the table was the fact that Cypher, for all intents and purposes looked to be the age of an 18 or 19 year old teenager, and yet he bore the rank of a Major. How weird some might think, but in all reality, no one not even Cypher himself knew his true age or even his entire background.

Off to the side the door to the Briefing Room opened. All eyes went to the door as Major McCallister and Captain Cafferey stepped through, the door closing behind them.

Wordlessly the two officers pulled up a chair; Sara sitting beside Cypher and Jason sitting beside Nolan.

Once everyone was seated, all eyes went to General David Eddings who was going through some papers that were right in front of him. Finally the General looked up and addressed the people right in front of him.

"Two hours ago a MALP was sent to P4X-774. It picked up a distress call before unexplained electrical activity killed our connection to the MALP." General Eddings began. He pressed a button on a small recorder and seconds later a male voice; obviously human filled the room.

"_...dead, losing life support...gotta...i...one is out there please...need assistance!"_

It wasn't a long message but it was clear that someone needed their help, pronto.

"When do you want SG-2 to go, sir?" Jason asked. His team was basically the only team assembled there at the base. He could brief them and have them ready to go within twenty minutes; Jason knew he could!

"SG-2 will not be going on this mission. I need the best of the best and that is you four. Each of you bare unique talents that are required for this mission. I need you all to find out what's going on and rescue any survivors that you find. Gear up and report to the Gate Room in ten minutes. Dismissed."

Brigadier General David Eddings sat down as the four officers got up and left the room. He knew each of them were surprised at having been teamed up with one another, especially since they were all on separate teams, but they had no time to assemble each and every team, P4X-774 needed help and they needed it right now and if it was the last thing the General was going to do, he was going to get the help; the very best.

SGTNGSGTNGSGTNGSGTNG

Ten minutes later Major Nolan CarMichael, Major Jason McCallister, Major Cypher Borodin and Captain Sara Cafferey were standing in the Gate Room, watching as the Gate was slowly being dialed. They all wore the standard black offworld uniform, complete with Kevlar vest. While Nolan, Sara and Jason bore the standard P-90, Cypher bore a weapon known as the Colt Commando, a powerful weapon that was as good as the P-90 in many ways.

Since Nolan and Sara were both qualified sniper's, Jason knew that each was packing their sniper rifles, which was a little comforting to note, though deep down he hoped that their weapons wouldn't be necessary at all.

"_Chevron Seven locked!"_

The voice of their Gate tech came over the mic as the Stargate sprang to life, the worm hole jutting out before sinking in on itself, creating a stable wormhole.

"Time to move out." Jason ordered as he took point. No one argued with Jason's statement, each knowing that he was the CO for this hastily slapped together team.

Each of them gripped their weapons tight as they walked up the ramp and stepped through the event horizon of the wormhole. This wasn't anything new to them, but this type of rescue mission was something that none of them did on a day to day basis, so each of them bore their own type of nervousness in to this mission.

Two minutes later Jason, Nolan, Cypher and Sara walked out of the Stargate on to P4X-774. Jason was still in the lead with Nolan behind him and to his left, Cypher behind Jason and to his right and Sara taking up the rear behind all of the officers.

Immediately all their eyes fell on the MALP and it's obviously burned out countenance.

"Well...no wonder it stopped transmitting." Jason commented, walking over to the damaged machine.

"Wonder what happened. A simple lightning strike wouldn't cause damage like that." Sara commented as she glanced around, making sure that there was no one around except the four of them.

"That's one of the things we are here to find out." Jason replied.

The area around them was huge. It was as if the Stargate had been placed in a intricate palace. There were pillars near the sides of the room, obviously holding up the roof. The walls and the pillars looked to be made of the same material, a type of marble sandstone that had patterns in them that looked like swirls of dust caught in the gleam of the sun.

High up on the roof there was a dome shaped skylight that showed the sky. The sky was cloudy and every once in a while one could see streaks of lightning pass overhead.

Behind the Stargate was a heavy metal door that was covered in dust, yet on the other side of the room there were a series of stairs that led up several levels to where a smaller door could be seen.

Without saying a word, Jason beckoned the others to follow him. Slowly they approached the stairs, each glancing up and up as their eyes followed the staircase. Making their way up the stairs was slow going because there were no hand rails on either side of the stairs and the incline was steep and getting steeper with every step. Every once in a while they would stop and look around but the room still remained as deathly quiet as it had been since they stepped through the Stargate.

After a good fifteen minutes they all had finally reached the top of the staircase. Slowly Jason reached out a hand and grasped the old doorknob that was covered in rust.

Turning it, Jason put some weight on the door, causing it to open. Raising an eyebrow, Jason stepped through the opening, followed by the rest of his team.

Leaving the lighted room the team had stepped through in to a room that was pitch black.

"Hmm...should'a brought our night vision goggles." Cypher muttered, not liking the darkness. He wasn't scared of the dark; none of them were, Cypher just didn't like not knowing what was in front of him.

Suddenly the open doorway behind them shut with a loud bang, causing all four of them to jump.

"Okay, this isn't in the least bit freaky." Sara said in obvious annoyance as she looked around in to the darkness.

A groan and a thud just a little ways ahead of her caused Sara to stop.

"McCallister? CarMichael...Borodin?" She called out, expecting an answer but there was none. "Guys?"

Hands tighting their grip on the weapon, Sara once again looked out in to the darkness. Suddenly a sharp stinging pain on the side of her neck made her reach up and feel the area. It was as if something had just stung her; the pain was that intense!

Groaning, Sara stumbled as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She reached out to grab something; anything but there was nothing out there to grab.

Slowly, as if in slow motion she fell, hitting the hard pavement type floor with a thud. As the darkness seemed to overtake her, Sara's final thoughts were of the team; what had happened to them and more importantly, where were they?

A cold breeze on her skin caused Sara to groan and open her eyes. At first the bright lights caused her to squint. Wait...bright lights? A sudden pressure on her shoulder caused her to jump.

"It's alright, take it easy." A soft, male voice said.

The bright lights overhead suddenly dimmed enough that Sara could see.

She looked up in to the face of a young man in a weird black and turquoise/green uniform.

"McCallister..." Sara whispered; thoughts of her friends surfacing in her mind. She registered a pat on her shoulder as the soft voice of the man said, "Your friends are alright, they are right over there."

Sara watched the man gesture to somewhere off to the left of the bed. Sara tried to turn her head and look but the burning pain in her neck prevented her from doing so.

"Where...where am I?" Sara asked as her brain tried to answer that very same question.

The world around her was unfamiliar. The last thing she remembered was darkness and pain; how in the world did she and for that matter everyone else get to...wherever the hell they were now?

"You are on Deep Space Nine..."

SGTNGSGTNGSGTNGSGTNG

* - The "Pollen Planet" was the last mission the SGC sim completed. For more information, just check out the SGTNG forum.


	3. Chapter Two: Loss for Words

**Shadows and Darkness**

By

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Two: Loss for Words

"_You are on Deep Space Nine..."_

Those words kept echoing in Sara's head as she sat on the edge of the bio bed. Deep Space Nine? How the heck was that possible; DS9 was supposed to be a work of fiction and yet...

"So now what?"

All eyes turning to Major Borodin who was leaning against the wall closest to Sara's bio bed. Nolan and Jason were standing side-by-side to the right hand side of the bio bed. The four of them had gotten together once Dr. Bashir had left them alone. Realistically the sickbay wasn't the safest of places to talk about what had happened, but the need to regroup, get some semblance of what had just happened seemed to overpower their better judgment.

"Now we...we need to figure out what happened." Nolan said, placing his hands out palms down in an effort to symbolize the need to remain calm.

"No shit man. I thought this place wasn't even supposed to exist!" Jason whispered back. He was just as surprised as everyone else to find out their current location.

Until thirty minutes ago Jason and everyone else had believed that Deep Space Nine had been a work of fiction, something based on a vision that had been in the mind of _Star Trek_'s creator Gene Roddenberry, but now they weren't so sure.

"Apparently not." Sara said with a small shrug of her shoulders. Jason looked at her, the look on his face dripped with sarcasm.

"Oh that's very helpful Captain," He shot back, "Next you'll be telling me that the Jedi and Sith are real too!"

"McCallister, Cafferey that is enough! Arguing isn't going to get us back home. Instead of bitching, we need to find out how we got here and see if we can use the same process to get home! I for one don't want a stack of paperwork a mile long to go through!" Nolan said. It was obvious the Major was seconds away from slapping the two of them, and it was that knowledge that shut the two of them up.

"Is everything alright?"

Jason and Nolan turned around, while Cypher stood up straight and walked the few steps to stand by Jason's left side while Sara hopped down off the bio bed and stood to Nolan's right. In front of them stood Dr. Bashir and an odd looking back in a tan uniform.

"Yes we were just discussing the events that brought us here." Nolan said; it was the truth at least as much as they were willing to divulge at the moment.

"Good, that is what I wanted to discuss anyway." The odd looking man said as he folded his arms, giving all four officers an icy look.

Dr. Bashir looked from the man to his patients and back again. "You'll have to forgive him, this is Constable Odo, the station's Chief Security Officer." Dr. Bashir said in an almost apologetic voice. Nolan, Jason, Cypher and Sara remained silent, each of them deciding what to say and what not to say. Sure they could give their rank and name but what then? Surely this Odo would try to verify what they said and once he found out that the military had no record of them ever existing or worse...! If the United States Air Force and Army didn't exist anymore, then they would be in a heap of trouble!

"Major Jason McCallister," Jason began, taking the matter in to his own hands, "To my left is Major Cypher Borodin. To my right is Major Nolan CarMichael and Captain Sara Cafferey."

After introducing them all to the Constable, Jason shut up.

Odo didn't seem at all impressed with their rank and from the look on his face it did seem as if he were a little annoyed at it instead.

"Hmm. Well if you would all follow me, I would like to discuss this with you at the Security station." Odo said.

Nolan, Jason, Sara and Cypher each looked at one another before once again looking at Odo. It was clear that his 'suggestion' wasn't really a suggestion, but an implied order and if they didn't oblige it would look as if they had something to hide.

"Lead the way then." Nolan said, gesturing to the door.

Odo nodded his head and stepped outside on to the Promenade, followed seconds later by the four officers. Once outside on the Promenade, Jason, Cypher, Nolan and Sara gaped at the size of the Promenade. Sure each of them had seen Deep Space Nine on tv and they knew what the Promenade looked like but to actually be standing there now, it was something else!

"Ahem!"

All four officers realized that Odo was still waiting and he didn't really seem like a patient person so they all quickly fell in to step behind the man, following him to the Security Station. Once there Odo went to the central desk and sat down in the chair before tapping a few buttons on the console in front of him.

All four officers stood side-by-side in front of the desk with their hands clasped behind their backs. They hoped all of this was just standard procedure, but for some reason it didn't seem like it.

"You four were found on the USS Helsing," Odo began as he looked over something on a screen only he could see.

Jason, Sara, Nolan and Cypher resisted the urge to look at each other. A ship? They had been found on a ship when last they knew they had been on a planet?

"It was adrift near the entrance to the wormhole in the Gamma Quadrant. All other crew members and passengers were dead." Odo said.

"Sir, I can honestly say that we don't remember being on a ship. The last memory I have is exploring a planet." Jason said, receiving nods from the rest of the team.

"What planet?" Odo asked.

"We're not sure of it's true name; only the name that we made up for it; P4X-774." Cypher said, receiving looks from the other three officers.

From the look on Odo's face it was clear that he didn't understand the name but wasn't about to admit it himself.

"You were found wearing black military style uniforms that had these patches on them," Odo began, showing them the Tauri symbol patch as well as the SG-2 patch and AE-3 patch. As their eyes fell on the burned patches, their minds began to swirl with possible answers they could give. If they told him the truth there was no guarantee that he would believe it; what was more possible? They killed the people on the ship or were drugged and brought to a different reality all together?

"The uniforms were burned almost beyond recognition but according to the doctor's report none of you had any burns whatsoever." Odo said.

"I can't explain that." Jason said, shaking his head as if to emphasize his point. How could they explain something that they themselves didn't understand?

Odo seemed to ponder Jason's answer. Finally after several minutes Odo pushed a button that caused the doors of the Security Station to open. At this, all four officers looked confused. Was the questioning over? Were they free to go?

"You may go. I'll have a security detail escort you to the guest quarters." Odo said. Almost as if they read his mind, four men wearing the same tan uniform stepped in to view just outside the doors of the Station. The men looked human except for the ridges on their noses and a weird looking ear ring on their left ear.

Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth Jason, Nolan, Sara and Cypher left the office and followed the security detail to a lift, entering in to it behind them.

"Habitat Ring corridor H-12-A." One of the officers said. A quick almost musical chirp sounded before the lift began to move downwards. Jason, Nolan, Sara and Cypher noted the location; it was easy enough to memorize should they need to know where they were assigned.

When the lift doors opened they followed their 'escort' out and down the hallway. They passed door after door after door before one of the security officers stopped at a door.

"These next four rooms have been assigned to you. You are free to roam around the Promenade when and if you wish. Also Commander Sisko will wish to speak with all of you soon." The officer said before he pressed the button located on the keypad that was attached to the wall beside the door.

The door of the first room opened up, showing the interior of a gray walled room that looked rather uninviting.

"Thank you." Jason said, watching as the officer nodded before he led the rest of the security detail back towards the lift.

When they were gone, Jason and the others entered the room.

"I'll take this room," Jason said as if he weren't too happy with the arrangement, "Nolan you take the next one, Sara the next and Cypher the last room. I suggest we wait to do any poking around until we've talked with Commander Sisko. He may be able to shed some light on the matter, then again maybe not."

"Alright fair enough. What do we do in the meantime?" Sara asked. She folded her arms across her chest as she waited for a reply.

While being on Deep Space Nine was a little exciting, now was not the time to go crazy. They needed to find a way to get home before they were declared MIA; wouldn't General Eddings just love that?

"In the mean time? We wait." Jason said with a slight shrug.


	4. Chapter Three: Truthful Confessions

**Shadows and Darkness**

By

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Three: Truthful Confessions

Four pairs of eyes stared back at a single pair of cool brown eyes that belonged to Commander Benjamin Sisko, the Commanding Officer of Deep Space Nine. Major's McCallister, CarMichael, Borodin and Captain Cafferey had been escorted to the Commander's office thirty minutes earlier and all they had done in that span of time was the blandest of introductions that had ended in a basic staring contest.

Finally Ben Sisko leaned forward in his chair, folded his hands and placed them on his desk before looking back at the four officers standing in front of him.

"Now then, Constable Odo did some checking. Apparently there are no records of your existence...ever. How can you explain that Major...McCallister right?" Benjamin asked.

Jason glanced over at Nolan who stood to his left. This apparently was the wrong thing to do because Commander Sisko stood up from his chair and said, "Don't look at him, look at me!"

The gruffness in the Commander's voice startled Jason so much that he returned his gaze to the Commander.

Gripping the desk, Commander Sisko walked around it to stand directly in front of Jason.

"I asked you to explain that!" Commander Sisko demanded once more.

Jason lowered his eyes, unsure of what to say. What could he say that would satisfy the Commander? It wasn't like they could explain away their arrival at the Station and for all intent and purposes it looked as if Commander Sisko was wanting them to do just that!

"Respectfully Commander Sisko, we cannot explain what we ourselves don't understand." Nolan said. He kept his voice respectful and his eyes straight ahead. While Commander Sisko wasn't his superior officer, he was the leader of the Station and that warranted a modicum of respect.

Commander Sisko looked over at Major CarMichael before folding his arms and stepping to the side so he was directly in Nolan's face.

"Alright, explain." Commander Sisko all but demanded of Nolan.

With a small sigh Nolan began their tale, leaving nothing out. He told Commander Sisko of the SGC, the SGC's mission and the mission that the four of them had been assigned, as well as the last memory of stepping in to the dark room and then waking up in the Infirmary.

After Nolan finished, Commander Sisko had a shocked look on his face. Without saying a word the Commander returned to his chair and sat down, the index finger on his left hand going to his lips, the tell tale sign that he was contemplating their story.

"Under normal circumstances I would ask you to prove the validity of your story but these seem proof enough." Commander Sisko said, pulling out the patches that Odo had brought over after his meeting with the team.

"Yes sir." All four officers said in unison, their hands clasped behind their back as a sign of respect. Even though they were no longer in uniform but dressed in civilian clothing, they were still officers and as such they were under an obligation to act like officers.

"However this does not answer the question of what I am going to do with you." Commander Sisko said. He reached over and grabbed the baseball that adorned his desk. Sitting back in his chair, Commander Sisko tightened his hand over the ball before fixing each of them with a look.

"Sir, if there was any way to return to our world we would do it. We know that we don't belong here yet here we are." Sara said respectfully.

"Yes Captain, I realize that." Commander Sisko said; obviously still contemplating his choices.

Sara herself was aware of the looks she was receiving from not only Jason but the rest of the team. It was obvious that none of them were that happy with the statement she had made to the Commander, yet what was done was done.

When Commander Sisko stood up once more and placed the baseball back on it's small stand it was clear that he had reached a decision.

"I can imagine how difficult it must be, waking up in an unfamiliar place and having no idea where you are," Commander Sisko began, "I have been in that same situation and I know from experience a little of what you all must be feeling right now. If there are answers out there as to what brought you here I assure you all that we will do our best to find them."

"Yes sir," Jason replied, "We would like to help find those answers."

It didn't take long for Commander Sisko to agree with Jason's statement. "If someone on your team is an engineer I would suggest he or she work with our Chief Operations Officer, Chief O'Brien. He's going over the USS Helsing as we speak. Major Nerys and Lieutenant Dax are going over the sensor data from the USS Helsing." Commander Sisko said.

Jason nodded his head, his mind swirling with possibilities. After a few moments he glanced at Sara, their resident engineering expert. "Sara, work with Chief O'Brien. See if you can come up with something. The rest of us will work with Major Nerys and Lieutenant Dax." He said.

"Yes sir." Sara replied with a slight nod of her head.

She then turned and left the Commander's office and headed for the turbolift. Before the meeting they all had gone over the blueprints of the Station so Sara was fairly confident she knew where to go, at least where getting to the USS Helsing was concerned. After that she would have to track down Chief O'Brien the hard way.

SGTNGSGTNGSGTNGSGTNGSGTNG

Brigadier General Asid Mjolnir groaned as he grabbed at the handrail that was securely fastened to the wall. The doctor on duty had finally allowed him to get some exercise after his little aneurism on the Pollen Planet. Needless to say he was unbelievably stiff, but with every step his muscles were loosening; slowly but surely.

As he rounded the corner Asid saw the acting Commanding Officer for the Stargate Atrium, Brigadier General David Eddings talking with the base XO Lieutenant Colonel Robert Thomson. Even though Asid couldn't hear what was going on, from the look on their faces it was obviously something very serious.

Limping over to them, Asid fixed them with his best military stare. "Alright," he began, "What's going on?"

Robert looked at Asid but didn't respond; it wasn't his place to say anything on the matter. If David chose to tell Asid then so be it. Brigadier General David Eddings stood a little straighter, folding his arms across his chest as he returned Asid's stare.

At first David wasn't going to tell Asid anything but he thought better of it given the fact that at least three of the missing officers were or at least had been under Asid's command.

"Earlier today we received a distress call from an as of yet unexplored planet. Since no team was currently available we threw an emergency team together and sent them through the Stargate to investigate and hopefully rescue any survivors. They have failed to report back." General Eddings said.

When David finished speaking, Asid looked towards the Control Room and the Stargate. Of course Asid was worried about his officers; he was responsible for them yet then again they were professionals, they knew the risks and the dangers of stepping through the Stargate.

After a moment Asid asked, "Which ones?"

"McCallister, CarMichael, Borodin and Cafferey." David curtly replied.

Asid glanced at David once more, but this time he raised an eyebrow. "Borodin? Seriously? If anything happens to one of Colonel Tenjin's people I wouldn't be surprised if he came waltzing through the Gate and killed you."

With the look on Asid's face it was hard for General Eddings to discern weather or not he was kidding.

"When were they supposed to report back?" Asid asked.

Licking suddenly dry lips, General Eddings quickly checked his watch, noting the time.

"Six hours ago. I was just about to assemble another team to investigate the original team's disappearance."

Asid nodded his head before he patted the General's shoulder. "Well let me tell you, if this team goes missing as well I may kill you myself." Asid said.

General Eddings knew if it were any other man he would have just laughed and written the man up on charges but this was General Mjolnir and he wasn't just any other man, plus General Eddings had no doubt that Asid was downright serious with his threat.

Nodding his head in understanding, David excused himself and headed for the Control Room.

Once there he accessed the radio.

=^=Major Sadie Ford, Captain Anthony Lowrey, Captain Steve Archer and Master Sergeant Joanne Rhodes please report to the Briefing Room on the double.=^=


	5. Chapter Four: Trouble on the Horizon

**Shadows and Darkness **

By

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Four: Trouble on the Horizon

Sara Cafferey stood in the dark corridor on board the USS Helsing trying to decide which way to go. Finding her way to the ship had been the easy part, now here she was faced with searching something that was just about as big as the USS Pillar of Dawn; a rather large BC-307. Clearing her throat Sara set out on her search. First was the Bridge, then Deck's 2 and 3.

Coming up empty Sara brought up a schematic on one of the monitors on Deck 3. Seeing the way to Engineering, Sara shut off the monitor and took the nearest turbolift to Deck 15, where Engineering was said to be.

Upon arrival Sara's eyes immediately were drawn to the huge warp core that was in the middle of the room. The inside of the warp core glowed a blueish white; a color that was almost mesmerizing to look at.

"Hey, can I help you?"

Startled, Sara jumped back a little, her eyes roaming around until they locked on to the figure of an older man with curly blond hair, wearing a gold Starfleet uniform.

"Chief O'Brien?" Sara asked, pointing her finger in a questioning matter at the man who seemed to be looking her over with a practiced eye.

"Yes, and you are?" The man asked.

Hearing confirmation that this man was indeed Chief O'Brien did little to comfort the young Captain.

"Captain Cafferey. Commander Sisko and Major McCallister suggested we work together." Sara said in a polite manner.

"Ahh yes, Commander Sisko told me someone would be coming." Miles said.

Straightening her shoulders Sara approached the older man who handed her a few tools which Sara gratefully accepted, even though she had absolutely no idea how to use them.

"Have you found anything so far?" Sara asked, hoping to break the annoying silence that seemed to fill Engineering.

Normally Sara was all for peace and quiet but now wasn't the time for that. Now she needed answers; answers would be the key to getting back home and sadly it was something that was in short supply.

"Nope, according to computer records nothing out of the ordinary happened." Miles replied.

"Except that the crew died and my colleagues and I suddenly appeared." Sara said filling in the unspoken statement.

"Do you have any theories as to how this could of happened?" Sara asked.

After thinking about it for a few moments Miles shook his head. "No, I know Starfleet doesn't have technology that can snatch people from another place."

This was going no where fast. Surely there had to be some clues somewhere but if they didn't know what to look for how would they spot the clues when they saw them?

"Maybe...maybe the answer isn't with the ship. Maybe it's somewhere out in the Gamma Quadrant." Sara said. She knew she wasn't being helpful, but sometimes throwing out meaningless sentences causes an epiphany.

"Maybe. That makes as much sense as everything we've found so far." Miles replied with a slight shrug of his shoulder.

"Found anything new Old Man?"

Jason and Nolan looked at Commander Sisko like he was crazy. Did he seriously just call a beautiful young woman an old man?

Jadzia caught the looks that Jason and Nolan threw Benjamin's way. She grinned warmly, her smile causing both me to smile back.

"No sir. Sensors recorded nothing out of the ordinary except for here," Jadzia began as she pulled up a rather recent file, "when the Helsing passed through a small black hole cluster. Internal sensors indicated the presence of an actual lightning storm in the cargo hold and lower decks but according to Chief O'Brien there is no sign that an electrical current of that magnitude ever passed through the lower portion of the ship, or the entire ship for that matter."

"Wait...lightning storm?" Jason asked. His mind suddenly drawn back to the planet they had been sent to; images of the MALP flashing in his mind.

"Yes. According to these readings there was enough power to overload a warp core." Jadzia said.

While her statement didn't mean anything to Jason, he did begin to wonder if the same lightening storm that had supposedly hit the USS Helsing also destroyed the MALP on P4X-774.

"Why do you ask?" Jadzia asked as she looked up at Jason.

"It may not be anything put on our arrival at P4X-774 we found our MALP completely melted, probably from some sort of electrical charge. Who knows, it may be the same charge." Jason replied.

"Without knowing what the MALP is made out of it's hard to say for sure but it is possible." Jadzia said.

All of a sudden there was a chirp at a console. Major Kira Nerys went over to the console and pressed several buttons before she glanced up at Commander Sisko.

"It's a message from Starfleet. A Borg cube has been spotted on long range sensors." Kira said in utter disbelief.

Hearing the word 'Borg' Commander Sisko whirled around to face Kira; his mind already filling with the memories of losing his beloved wife to the Borg in the battle of Wolf 359. Not only did he lose his beloved Jennifer but his son Jake lost his mother that day; all thanks to Captain Jean-Luc Picard...no...Locutus and the rest of the Borg.

"What? Where is the Cube headed?" Ben asked, approaching Kira's console. He watched as she tapped a few more buttons before her skin became white.

"Here, the Cube is coming here Commander. We have 7 hours, 49 minutes before it arrives." Kira said.

After she spoke the whole of Ops became silent; so silent that one could hear a pin drop. So many people including civilians, there wasn't enough time to evacuate them all...what to do? What to do?

Kira watched Commander Sisko begin to pace around Ops. "Sir, I recommend evacuation for all non essential personnel. The USS Helsing should be able to handle most of the Station's population." Kira said.

Ceasing his pacing, Commander Sisko nodded his head. "Yes, begin evacuation of all non essential personnel but make it fast Major, we don't have much time. Dax work with Chief O'Brien, I want the Station's defenses at 100 percent."

Orders having been given, Jason, Nolan and Cypher watched as Jadzia and Kira got to work carrying out Commander Sisko's orders.

"Major McCallister, CarMichael and Borodin. This is not your fight so you are free to leave the Station on the Helsing if you wish." Commander Sisko said, his eyes going to the three men.

Jason, Nolan and Cypher each looked at one another before each of them fixed Commander Sisko with a look.

"This may not be our fight but we are going to join in anyway. Besides, you'll need all the help you can get Commander." Jason replied.

Benjamin looked from Jason to Nolan and then to Cypher, seeing the conviction on all of their faces. Wordlessly Benjamin nodded his thanks to them.

Turning his attention to the problem at hand Benjamin knew that he wasn't going to give up the Station, no matter the cost. Should it look like they would lose the Station then Benjamin was more than prepared to blow it up yet...what if that wouldn't stop the Cube? What then?

Major Ford, Captain's Lowrey and Archer as well as Master Sergeant Rhodes all sat around the large briefing room table listening carefully as Brigadier General Eddings explained the situation.

So, a team had gone missing at it was their mission to find out why.

"Are we clear? Find out what happened. If you can locate the team so much the better just be aware that if you don't return in 48 hours time then the planet's address and your IDC will be locked out and you will not be allowed to return home." General Eddings said.

Even though no one said anything they all were thinking the same thing; locking out their IDC was a little harsh but understandable. They didn't know what was on the planet and if it was dangerous it couldn't be allowed to interfere with Stargate operations.

"Understood sir." Sadie said in a calm, cool voice that belied her true feelings on the matter. Sadie wasn't in the habit of leaving people, team mates or not, behind. If McCallister, CarMichael, Cafferey and Borodin were still on that planet then Sadie was sure as hell not going to leave without them.

"Good then gear up and report to the Gate Room in 10 minutes. Dismissed." General Eddings said. With no further words spoken Sadie, Anthony, Steve and Joanne stood up from their chairs and exited the Briefing Room.

Within 10 minutes they were all geared up and standing in the Gate Room watching the Gate spinning as the chevrons locked.

"Alright guys and gals no heroics here. We just go in, find our missing team mates and get the hell out again capiche? I really don't want to find this electrified planet my new place of residence." Sadie said, getting nods of agreement from her team.

"_Chevron Seven locked!"_

All eyes went to the Gate as the wormhole opened and stabilized. Once it was safe to go through, Sadie nodded for them to get moving.

"See you all on the other side then." She said as she walked up the ramp and through the Gate, the rest of her team following behind.


	6. Chapter Five: Regroup

**Shadows and Darkness**

By

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Five: Regroup

When the Gate shut down behind them, Major Ford, Captain's Lowrey and Archer and Sergeant Rhodes all became quiet, trying to listen for the missing team. After several minutes of hearing nothing save for the occasional crackle of thunder, they spread out and began a search of the room.

Near the Gate was the melted MALP in all of its glory.

"Good Lord, what the hell happened to the MALP?" Anthony Lowrey asked. He reached out a hand and touched the melted metal that had once been the arm of the MALP.

Major Ford just shrugged her shoulders, "Don't talk to me about the MALP, the MALP isn't important right now. Once we have the team with us then you can talk to me about the MALP but not before."

Anthony nodded his head, understanding the Major's anger. They did have a dead line but seriously? Would it really take them three days to locate the missing team?

"Which way?" Steve asked. He looked at the stairs and then the door near the Gate. The missing team could have gone either way, but only one way was the right way and if they chose the wrong way then that was time lost.

Sadie glanced first in front at the staircase leading to a door higher up, and behind her at the door closer to the Stargate. Knowing McCallister as she did, she figured he wouldn't have chosen the easier route. "That way," Sadie said, gesturing towards the stairs.

Anthony looked towards the stairs. It was a fair guess but that's all it was right? A guess?

"Are you sure?" He asked the Major.

Sadie took a moment to respond. Was she sure? Did she know Jason as well as she thought she did? The answer came back with a resounding 'Yes!'

"I'm sure." She replied with just the slightest of grins on her face.

That answer seemed to satisfy the others because they all fell in to step behind her as they approached the stairs.

SGTNGSGTNSGTNGSGTNGSGTNG

The Promenade was abuzz with activity. Many of the shop keepers were closing up shop, while the civilians were packing up what they had. The USS Helsing had begun boarding of the Station's residents but it would still be another three hours before boarding would be complete.

Jason, Nolan and Cypher had worked with the Security forces, helping to set up the internal weaponry just in case the Borg did make it inside. Odo was very professional, he knew exactly how the set up should be, and it seemed that Commander Sisko trusted him enough to not ask questions.

Sara had stayed close to Chief O'Brien, after he had showed her how to operate the consoles he had let her assist him on checking the Station's systems, making sure they were ready for the coming fight.

Finally they were down to just two hours; two small hours and then the Borg would be there. The USS Helsing had departed an hour earlier, leaving only a skeleton crew consisting of four hundred Bajorins and seventy Starfleet Officers including Commander Sisko, Lieutenant Jadzia Dax, Commander Worf and Dr. Bashir. No one was sure who would win the fight but most seemed to think that the Borg would win hands down.

While everyone had confidence in the Station, it was widely known that the Borg could adapt to any and all weapons unless they were on a rotating modulation; that's what made Jason and the others nervous. Sure Odo had shown them how to fire simple hand phasers but really...was that going to be enough to stop the Borg?

As the minutes slowly ticked by, Commander Sisko called all of the people in Ops together for a quick briefing. He looked each of them in the eye before explaining their situation. The Borg were coming; that was a given, but if the Borg gained access to the Station then each of them were to stand their ground for as long as they could. Ben then warned against allowing the Borg to touch them, already knowing what would happen if the Borg got their hands on someone.

"Exactly what does the assimilation process do?" Cypher asked, a little curious about the whole entire thing.

"Not much is known about that. What you all must know is that if you don't present yourselves as a threat then the Borg should ignore you. If at any time one of you should become infected..." Commander Sisko paused. He wanted to say that whomever was infected should be shot and killed before the assimilation process could be completed, but he knew how well that would go over!

"It's alright Commander, I get the picture." Cypher said, seeing how upset the question was making Commander Sisko.

Suddenly an alarm went off seconds before the entire station started to shake; consoles sparked and went offline while things that weren't bolted down went flying to the floor; including people.

"What the hell was that?" Jason asked, picking himself up off of the ground.

After the shaking stopped, the consoles came back online as if nothing had happened! Chief O'Brien went to one of the consoles and pressed a few buttons, studying the readouts.

"Sir," He began, "I don't know what caused that but the internal sensors are showing four new heat signatures in the Habitat Ring, Level 4 Section 8."

Before Commander Sisko could order anyone to check it out, Jason and the rest of his team stepped forward, their phasers in hand.

"We'll check it out." Jason said before Ben could have a chance to say no. This was something that he and the others had been trained to do, be it on DS9 or back on Earth.

Commander Sisko was grateful for Jason's offer, so much so that he agreed. "Lieutenant Dax, get all of them a communicator and show them how to use it." Benjamin ordered.

Jadzia stood up from her console and nodded her head. "Aye sir." She replied, motioning for Jason and the others to follow her.

SGTNGSGTNGSGTNGSGTNGSGTNG

Jason, Nolan, Sara and Cypher stepped out of the turbolift, phasers in hand. Jadzia had given each of them a communicator and a quick lesson on how to use it. Now their communicators hung on the left side of their civilian shirts, almost as if it belonged there.

"How much longer until these Borg guys are supposed to arrive?" Cypher asked as they all headed down a corridor in search of some 'heat signatures.'

"About an hour and twenty minutes if Starfleet's message was correct. I just hope this isn't some elaborate attempt at an April Fool's joke." Sara replied. While her statement did seem ridiculous it was possible that it was some time of rouse...right?

Hearing some groaning coming from behind a door, Jason nodded his head and took of a position in front of the door while Nolan took the right side. Sara went over to the panel and waited for a nod from Jason. Once she got it she pressed the button that opened the door while Jason and Nolan tensed, expecting something; anything to jump out at them. When nothing did, all four officers entered the room.

What they found on the floor caused all four of their jaws to drop like a stone. "Not possible!" Jason muttered.

What they saw were the unconscious forms of Major Sadie Ford, Captain's Lowrey and Archer and Sergeant Rhodes. As had been the case with Jason and his team, Sadie's uniform as well as the uniform of the others were smoking, having been burned almost beyond recognition save for the shoulder patches, yet their skin was unburned.

While Jason, Sara and Nolan went to their fallen comrades, Cypher tapped his communicator.

=^=Commander Sisko, Major Borodin here. The heat signatures are friendlies, I'll explain soon. However be advised that we are in need of medical assistance at our location.=^=

It took a moment for Commander Sisko's voice to filter through the small speaker.

_=^=Understood Major. Dr. Bashir is on his way._=^=

Finally Cypher went over to Jason and the others.

"Sir, I'm going to go ahead and report in to Commander Sisko. I'll meet you all back in the Infirmary." Cypher said. He half thought that Jason wasn't going to let him go, but all Jason did was nod his head in agreement before saying, "Alright go on."

Raising an eyebrow Cypher turned and was out the door, half surprised that Jason didn't try to go report in to Sisko himself; then again Cypher knew that Jason did know Sadie...quite well in fact.

In a half jog Cypher reached the lift and took it back to the Promenade. From there he took another lift directly to Ops where Commander Sisko was waiting in his office.

Entering the office, Cypher immediately stood at attention as he made his report.

"Sir, the heat signatures that were detected...while I can not explain it, they belong to my colleagues." Cypher began, however he paused at seeing the confused look on Benjamin's face.

"Not Major McCallister and the others but four others from the SGC. Major Sadie Ford, Captain Anthony Lowrey, Captain Steve Archer and Sergeant Joanne Rhodes. Rhodes is actually a team mate of mine while Lowrey actually serves on SG-2 with Major McCallister. I don't know how they got here sir, but it appears they got here much the same way we did." Cypher said.

This was turning in to an interesting problem, people from the SGC just appearing out of no where, that coupled with the approach of the Borg...this certainly was turning in to an interesting day; one for the record books.

Benjamin thought about this new turn of events. Under different circumstances he would have loved to investigate the appearance of yet another SGC team but now wasn't the time.

"Understood Major. What is their condition?" Commander Sisko asked.

"Unconscious, charred uniform. Other than that I don't know. Dr. Bashir would know more sir." Cypher said.

Commander Sisko sighed and rose from his chair, tugging his uniform down as he stepped out form behind his desk.

"Thank you Major. While I am a little surprised at this turn of events, I am grateful. That more help has come. Starfleet has sent word ahead, those starships that have engaged the Cube have all been destroyed, the Cube is still on it's way here." Commander Sisko said.

"Well...let them come sir. We'll help you defend your station or die trying." Cypher said in response. He truly believed that the others would agree with that statement. It was what they were trained for. So what if they didn't belong there, they were soldiers; capable soldiers and these people needed help. They couldn't just turn their backs on them!

"Sir with your permission, I'd like to go to the Infirmary; check on my team mates before things get started." Cypher said.

Commander Sisko nodded and waved towards the door.

"Yes, go ahead." He replied.

Nodding his head Cypher turned on his heel and was out the door in five seconds flat. He knew time was of the essence. While he doubted four more people wouldn't change the tide of the upcoming battle, the increasing numbers certainly wouldn't hurt anything...would they?


	7. Chapter Six: A Reason to Fight

**Shadows and Darkness**

By

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Six: A Reason to Fight

By the time Major Borodin arrived in the Infirmary, Major Ford, Captain Lowrey, Captain Archer and Sergeant Rhodes were already awake. Each of them were leaning against a bio bed, talking in a low voice to Jason, Nolan and Sara.

When Jason caught sight of Cypher he waved him over.

"Good we're all here." Jason said once Cypher had joined them. "Yes but would you kindly tell me where 'here' is? And don't tell me some crazy story about us being on some kind of _Star Trek_ space station!" Sadie said.

To Jason, Nolan, Cypher and Sara it was obvious that Sadie was a little unhappy; why they didn't know.

"It's not some story Major, it's real. Deep Space Nine is real." Sara said. She knew that if someone had told her that just two days ago she wouldn't have believed them yet here she herself was, standing on one of the greatest most recognizable space stations in the whole _Star Trek_ universe.

"Not to seem rude sirs but I suggest that instead of arguing about weather or not this place is real, we should find a way to get out of here; get back to our world before General Eddings locks out our IDC! We only have a little more than a day and from the look of it you all haven't figured out how we can go home either." Captain Lowrey said.

Everyone present knew that the Captain was right, they were running out of time...in more ways than they knew.

"Therein lies the problem Captain. There is nothing, no evidence or clues that give us any hint as to how we all got here. Not only that but we have an even bigger problem; the Borg are coming." Nolan said in the calmest voice he could muster. Now was not the time to panic and besides that they were trained officers and officers of the SGC, specifically under General Mjolnir's command did not panic!

"I'm sure if you have seen the show _TNG_ or _Deep Space Nine_ or for that matter _Star Trek: First Contact_ that you know how dangerous the Borg can be." Sara said. While the shows and the film were now considered to be 'ancient history' given that the shows, especially _TNG_ was made in the 80's and 90's, and the film was made in 1996, and the current year was only 2024 at the SGC.

"So what's the plan sirs? We stay and fight and then what? How is this going to help us get back?" Captain Archer asked.

"Well Captain think about it this way. We can't very well investigate what happened with Borg crawling around everywhere. This is just another obstacle that we have to get past." Jason said.

Sighing, Sadie finally stood up straight. Enough time had passed, now they needed to be a unified team if they wanted to have any hope of getting back home. "Alright the predicament is a moot point now. Right now we have a responsibility to help these people; this is what we were trained for, we can't very well turn our backs on them. If we succeed then that brings us one step closer to going home but if we fail...we gave em' hell." Sadie said.

Jason allowed himself a slight smile. He was glad to be able to have the chance to fight along side Sadie, given the fact that they had known each other since the time he had been in high school.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get with Security, find out where they want us. We also need to get our hands on some weapons, looks like our own weapons didn't make it through." Sadie said.

Nodding, Jason turned and stepped away from the bio bed. "Follow me, I'll take you to Ops so you all can speak with Commander Sisko. Meanwhile Major CarMichael, Borodin and Captain Cafferey can procure the weapons." he said.

So it was done, the orders had been given and now came the time to follow out those orders. While Sara, Nolan and Cypher left to go grab three more communicators as well as three phasers and or rifles.

A little over an hour later everyone was back in Ops. Sadie and her team had been fitted with a communicator a piece as well as a type 3 phaser which had also been given to Jason and his team. Now they all were crowded around Kira and her monitor, just waiting for the Borg to make their unwelcome appearance.

They didn't have to wait much longer because not ten minutes later the Borg dropped out of transwarp between the Station and the wormhole, and there it sat; almost as if it were trying to decide what to do.

Everyone in Ops seemed to hold their breath, waiting and watching for the Borg to make up their minds. So far the station really hadn't presented itself as much of a threat which was more than likely the only reason why the Borg Cube wasn't attacking them.

"Is this typical of Borg behavior?" Captain Lowrey asked after several minutes.

Major Kira shook her head, "That depends. If we don't present ourselves as a threat the ongoing theory is that they leave you alone." She said.

A chirp from Kira's console got everyone's attention. Commander Sisko straightened up as he wordlessly looked at the station's XO.

"The Borg Cube is moving to the wormhole, Commander." Kira reported. It was then painfully obvious what the Cube intended to do; destroy the wormhole and in doing so sever not only Commander Sisko's connection to the Prophets but also more or less destroy the Bajorin's hopes and dreams since they saw the Prophets as their saviors.

Commander Sisko knew what he had to do; openly attack the Borg Cube, draw their fire away from the entrance to the Wormhole.

"Lock on to that Cube and fire when ready!" Commander Sisko ordered.

"Aye sir!" Jadzia replied.

Within seconds the station's phasers sliced across the dead of space, smacking in to the side of the Cube.

"Direct hit, minimal damage." Jadzia said, reading the messages coming across her screen.

As all eyes turned to the small viewscreen, they watched as the Borg Cube stopped in it's tracks, turned slightly before launching what looked like a type of tractor beam on to the station, followed by blasts from their own weapons.

Deep Space Nine shuttered as the weapons impacted against the shields. Once, twice, three times the Borg hit the station. Smoke was pouring from fried consoles while alarms were going off everywhere.

Those blasts sure had stung but there was no way they were out of the fight yet!

"Report!" Commander Sisko barked.

Jadzia picked herself up off the floor, her brown hair slightly frizzed as she tapped a few buttons on her console.

"Station shields are down to 61 percent, weapons are still online." Jadzia reported. Seconds later a new alarm began to go off as the station shook again!

"Sir, the Borg are trying to cut in to the Habitat Ring!" Jadzia reported.

Not wasting any time Commander Sisko tapped his communicator.

=^=Chief, do everything you can to shore up our shields Take power from life support if you have to!=^= Commander Sisko barked.

Commander Sisko was determined to give these Borg a run for their money. He knew that the Defiant and a handful of runabouts were ready to take off to help defend the station but they would only be used as a last ditch effort.

"Sir the Borg are hailing." Major Kira said, glancing at the screen as a close up of the Cube came up.

Through the Ops speakers a cold, cruel, mechanical voice could suddenly be heard.

"We are the Borg. Lower your shields. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."

"Not today and not by you. Sir if we can get their shields down I'm sure that the firepower of the station and the Defiant will be enough to destroy that thing." Jason said, looking up at Commander Sisko.

Jadzia thought about the statement. "It's possible but if we were able to knock out their shields it would only be for a few moments; not enough time to do enough damage." She said.

"Well if you were able to knock out their shields even for a few seconds, would it be enough time to transport a few people over, knock out whatever is generating their shielding?" Cypher asked.

"You are talking about a suicide run!" Major Kira noted in a voice that belied how nervous she actually felt. She knew that most people that went up against the Borg wouldn't survive, and here their new friends were, practically suggesting they just waltz right up to the Borg, give them a little love tap to get inside and then blow the shield generators!

"It's better than just standing here waiting for them to kill us, Major. Besides if we were to succeed you could beam us back before the Cube is destroyed." Jason replied.

Holding up his hand to quiet the arguing, Commander Sisko looked at them all in turn.

=^=Chief, how much time do you need to reprogram the station's phaser array?=^= Commander Sisko asked.

It didn't take long for Chief O'Brien to respond.

_=^=Depends on what you are wanting to do Commander.=^=_

=^=Knock out their shields long enough to beam a party of four on to the cube.=^=

There was silence for several moments, obviously the Chief was having a little trouble trying to swallow what Commander Sisko was asking of him. Finally the Chief replied _=^=It'll take me several minutes to reprogram the weapons to deliver the kind'a punch you would need. But I must warn you that it might be the last shot we'd be able to make. The kind of feedback we'd be lookin' at would more than likely take the weapons offline.=^=_

=^=Well then, you'd better get to it.=^= Commander Sisko said. He didn't really like intrusting his station to strangers, but here he didn't really have a choice. They were all in this together and if they didn't trust each other then they wouldn't make it out alive.

"Major McCallister ready your team to board the Borg Cube. Major Ford, should our shields fail the Borg will be beaming in all over the Station. I need you and your team to protect the Core." Commander Sisko said.

"Aye sir." Jason and Sadie said, both in unison.

Turning away, Jason nodded for his team to head to the turbolift. "We'll grab what we need and be back here ready for transport ASAP." He said as he entered the turbolift.

SGTNGSGTNGSGTNGSGTNGSGTNG

It wasn't long before Jason and his team returned to Ops. They were laden with explosives as well as an extra phaser; enough firepower to take out the shield generator that was keeping the Borg shields active.

Once they were all on the transporter platform, Commander Sisko looked at Jadzia. "Once their shields drop, transport the package. We will only get one shot at this so make it count." As Jadzia acknowledged the order, Commander Sisko looked at Jason and his team, seeing that they were as ready as they would ever be.

Tapping his combadge, Commander Sisko asked =^=Chief, are you ready?=^=

_=^=Go ahead, weapons are as ready as they are ever going to get.=^=_

Commander Sisko waited an extra second after Chief O'Brien finished speaking before he muttered, "Fire."

Phasers lanced out of Deep Space Nine, smacking a central point on the Cube. At first there was nothing to indicate that their plan had worked until a small series of explosions could be seen rippling across the side of the cube.

"Borg shields are fluctuating. Looks like there's a small opening here in section 19. It's a fair distance from the generator, but not impossible to reach." Jadzia said as she readied to transport the team.

"Transporting now!" She said.

Once she pressed the final button, beams of light engulfed Jason and his team, dematerializing them.

"Transport com..." Jadzia began but a worried call from Kira interrupted her. "Borg shields are back up and we've lost all our weapons. The feedback that the Chief was talking about knocked out everything. Shields are down to 20 percent."

Sighing, Commander Sisko tapped his combadge once more.

=^=Major Ford, get your team in to position.=^= he commanded.


	8. Chapter Seven: Splitting Up

**Shadows and Darkness**

By

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Seven: Splitting Up

When the transporter effect dissipated, Jason and the others found themselves in a dimly lit environment.

"Okay these Borg should ignore us until they consider us a threat so don't fire at them and don't touch anything." Jason ordered. Gripping his weapon tight Jason led the way forward.

There were Borg alcoves everywhere, some were empty yet some contained Borg that were obviously going through a regeneration cycle.

As they rounded a corner they found several Borg working on repairing a damaged conduit. Once in a while a Borg would reach forward and do something that would cause the panel to spark, making the Borg step back.

"Looks like they are trying to repair whatever damage DS9 did." Cypher muttered. He had taken point, with Jason and Nolan behind him and Sara taking up the rear. "Yeah, let's just hope that we can inflict more damage before they finish repairing their systems." Jason said.

As if to emphasize his point the low hum of the Borg's weapons systems could be heard. All four of them knew what it meant; the Borg were firing at the station and with each hit the station's shields were getting weaker and weaker. Time was most definitely of the essence.

"Let's move!" Cypher said, more to get them all moving faster. He picked up the pace, easing his way through the multitude of Borg drones that were in his way. Moving slow and appearing non threatening was key to their mission. They second they became a threat they would only get three, perhaps four shots before the Borg would adapt to the weapons, and then they would either have to fight hand-to-hand or run their asses off, and if they didn't have the shields down they were in a word; screwed.

Finding a small plasma filter next to a grate, Cypher aimed his weapon at it. "This tunnel will take us to the area above the whatchamacall it right? The Central Plexus right?" Cypher asked. Major CarMichael looked at the area that Cypher indicated. "Right. A little ways more and we should find a lift that'll take us up several decks. According to Lieutenant Dax the Shield Generators should be on the fifth level. She also warned that we may need to hit the Generator as well as several back up systems to insure that the Borg couldn't quickly repair their shields." Nolan said.

"Alright we'll split up. Nolan and I will hit the Generator while you and Sara take out the back up systems." Jason said.

To him it was obvious that the Borg were just toying with Deep Space Nine, with the amount of firepower the Cube they could have easily taken out the station in less time than this. What were they up to?

"If you happen to find a data node see if you can find out what the Borg are up to. This just doesn't make sense." Jason said.

He received nods of understanding from both Sara and Cypher as they continued on their way. Finding the lift all four of them got on and triggered the lift to descend to the lower levels. On level 29 they stopped the lift, allowing Sara and Cypher to get off before triggering the lift to rise once more, taking the two men back up to where the shield generator was located.

SGTNGSGTNGSGTNGSGTNGSGTNG

Major Sadie Ford and her team were outside the entrance to the Main Computer of Deep Space Nine. They all gripped their weapons tight. Commander Sisko had just informed them that the shields had failed and that the Borg were cutting in to the side of the station.

With the station's weapons down, Commander Sisko had opted to send over a little care package in the shape of a warhead strong enough to destroy the entire Cube, but that could only be done if Major McCallister and his team succeeded. Chief O'Brien was doing his best to get the weapons back online but with the shields down, that took presidence.

Major Ford looked down for a moment, studying the weapon in her hand. Black, shiny; the metal cold against her hand. It bore a striking resemblance to the P-90 she was used to, which in this instance was a good thing. She was glad that her team at least had had the opportunity to use a replicator to make them weapons they were familiar with, rather than the phasers Jason and the others had gotten for them. She only wished now that she had remembered to pick up her phaser before the Borg had made their destructive entrance.

Suddenly the familiar sound of something beaming in could be heard. Seconds later the sound of someone marching their way could be heard.

"Here they come!" Major Ford said. She immediately raised her hand, preforming a 360 degree turn with her wrist; the prearranged signal for the team to fall back behind the doors seperating the Main Computer from the rest of the Station. Not arguing the team did as asked; one by one retreating back behind the doors.

Once they were all safe for the moment, Sadie stayed outside waiting and watching until she saw the first of ten Borg drones appear in the hallway.

Keeping her weapon trained on them, Sadie retreated back behind the door, ordering Captain Lowrey to seal it up behind her, which he was quick to do.

Captain Archer had set up some small explosive charges around the door; not enough to severely damage the station but enough to destroy any drones outside the door. The thing was they would only get one shot at it. The blast would only work once before the Borg would adapt to it Thankfully the door they were hiding behind was strong; it would take the Borg a while to get past it but it would not hold forever.

"Okay, detonate the charges on my mark." Sadie said, pulling up a view of the other side of the door on a small monitor. She watched as the Borg drones arrived at the door. When it didn't open they tried to pry it open with their fingers. When that didn't work they set to work on the control panel, trying to work around the problem.

Sadie was trying to wait until they had more than four drones there. Given the fact that there were a lot of drones on different parts of the station, they needed to wait until they could do more damage to their numbers before they detonated the charges.

SGTNGSGTNGSGTNGSGTNGSGTNG

Gripping her phaser tight Sara took the lead with Cypher just a few steps behind her. "Despite everything that we've been through both on the SGC and Atlantis, for some reason I never imagined having to fight the Borg." Cypher muttered. She disliked the quiet, especially now. Up on her left was a Borg standing in front of an alcove where another Borg stood. The first Borg was working on the second. Heart pumping, Sara hoped that the Borg would continue to ignore their small invasion force.

Once they were past the two Borg, Sara let out a small sigh of relief.

"I know the feeling Captain. Until an hour ago I didn't even know the Borg existed." Cypher murmured in reply.

Slowly they made their way up the ramp but once at the top something caused them to stop. Everything was quiet; too quiet. The Borg had stopped firing at the station, yet they hadn't moved either.

"We're running out of time. Come on." Sara said, urging Cypher onward. Jadzia had told them what needed to be hit in order to bring the shields down for the amount of time needed to destroy the Cube. Now all they had to do was find the right nodes, destroy them and avoid getting captured; easier said than done.

Coming to a 'T' section, Cypher motioned to the right with his phaser. "That way, the nodes that we have to hit are just down there." He said.

Sara gave a slight nod of her head. "Understood let's get..." A sudden explosion somewhere above them caused both officers to look up.

"Shit they are early! McCallister and CarMichael are early!" Sara exclaimed. The explosion had been Jason and Nolan setting off their charges. The Borg shielding would still be in place until Sara and Cypher took out the other nodes.

Jogging down the corridor both Sara and Cypher were relieved to see that there were no drones there.

"Alright, set your charges and..." Sara began but the sound of something beaming in to their location caused her to shut up.

Standing behind her and Cypher were a grand total of six drones, all looking at them; their red eye pieces running over Sara and Cypher's clothing, reminding them both of the red laser pointers there were on Earth.

"Shit! No time! Ready your phaser and shoot the damn things!" Sara ordered. Aiming her phaser Sara fired at the first of the nodes, taking out two while Cypher got the other two.

Behind them the drones began their slow approach; the phaser fire having been enough to get them in to motion.

Both Sara and Cypher began to fire at the drones, taking down three of them before the rest of the drones adapted.

"Shit, shit shit! This is not good!" Sara muttered. They were trapped and they both knew it. To get back to the elevator they first needed to get through the three Borg, and with their weapons out that wasn't going to be easy.

"Got any suggestions?" Cypher asked.

"Uhhh..." Sara replied, looking around for anything that could be used to aid them. "Depends; do you know anything about Parkour?"

Cypher glanced at her. Three Borg were baring down on them and she was asking about Parkour? "Only the name, why?" Cypher asked..

"See those alcoves? If we can get enough speed to get on those plates that are attached to the sides, we could use those to jump over the Borg. If we can get past them we could make a break for the lift." Sara said.

"Hmm, it's an idea; not a good one mind you but an idea. And it looks like it's the only one we have time for." Cypher said. He was unsure of this idea having never done anything remotely like it in the past, and the bad thing was if he didn't get it right the first time he wouldn't have a second time to retry.

"Alright get ready...go, go go!" Sara yelled as she took off. She ran towards the alcove on the right while Cypher, a few steps behind her ran towards the alcove on the left. Reaching her alcove Sara jumped up, managing to land on the gold colored, thick plate that was attached to the side of the alcove.

Eying the Borg, Sara tensed before jumping upward and outward. She sailed over the heads of the Borg, barely managing to get past them even as they were clumsily swinging their arms, trying to knock her to the ground. Hitting the ground, Sara preformed a roll which landed her back on her feet within six seconds. To say she was surprised was an understatement, but she didn't have time to congratulate herself on getting past the Borg because a pained cry from behind her caused her to glance back.

Sara saw Cypher lying on the floor clutching at his right leg. Not giving herself time to think Sara dashed back and grabbed the injured officer, dragging him back to his feet.

"Come on, come on!" Sara pleaded. It was obvious the younger man had either missed the plate all together or the Borg had knocked him out of the air.

Gritting his teeth, Cypher forced himself to get up. The Borg were just steps away, their pales hands reaching out trying to grab them.

"Run! Call that lift, I am right behind you!" Sara commanded. Even though Cypher was of a higher rank, now was not the time for a debate; now was the time for action.

"Make sure that you are, Captain!" Cypher responded as he started to run.

Sara trailed along behind him, trying to give him a good head start so that when she reached the lift they wouldn't have to wait on it, they could just take it back up and rejoin the rest of their team.

Seeing Cypher round the corner, Sara turned around and shot out a plasma filter which took out two of the trailing Borg.

Smiling, Sara dashed around the corner. Up ahead she saw that Cypher had already made it to the lift, they were almost home free.

In the back of her mind Sara was wondering why they hadn't been beamed back yet. What had gone wrong? Were the shields still up? However she couldn't worry about that for long because directly in front of her two Borg beamed in, heading directly for Cypher.

"This is turning out to be a bad day!" Sara muttered to herself as she raised her phaser once more and shot at them. The Borg's protective green shielding absorbed the blast and yet the Borg still kept coming. Gritting her teeth Sara broke in to a run, raising her weapon as she went.

Reaching the Borg Sara brought the small phaser down over the head of the first Borg, unbelievably dropping him like a stone.

Cypher who was at the lift, watched helplessly as Captain Cafferey tussled with the other Borg. First it looked like the Borg had the upper hand, then the odds shifted in Sara's favor.

Hearing the lift arrive, Cypher stepped on to it but didn't hit the controls. "Come on Captain, move it!" Cypher ordered.

"Be with ya in just a second!" Sara replied through gritted teeth as she worked, trying to hold the Borg's hands back. Using her weight Sara bashed the Borg in the head with her head, causing him to stumble back. Seeing that the Borg was stunned, Sara released it's hands and turned towards the lift, but before she could move she felt a sharp pain on the side of her neck. "AAAHHHH!" She yelped. As her mind tried to process what was happening, it soon became clear. One Borg; she had forgotten about the single Borg drone that had been trailing them. When she had stunned the one Borg drone, the second one must have been close by.

Dropping to her knees in shock, Sara barely registered Cypher calling out to her. Looking up as the two Borg drones walked past her, heading for Cypher, Sara yelled "Just go! Don't let em get you too!"

From the lift Cypher had seen everything; seen Sara stun the Borg, seen a Borg drone come up behind her and raise a hand towards her neck. He had seen two tube like things come out of the Borg drone's fingers and inject themselves in to the Captain's neck, if only for the briefest of seconds, and now Cypher had watched the Captain collapse to the ground, her skin beginning to pale.

"Just go," Sara had said, "Don't let em' get you too!"

The saying 'No Man Left Behind' filtered through Cypher's mind yet the knowledge that there was nothing he could do was foremost in his mind.

"We'll be back for you Captain!" He said before punching the button that would take the lift up.

As the lift rose, Cypher shook his head and muttered, "He's going to kill me."


	9. Chapter Eight: The Final Hour

**Shadows and Darkness**

By

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Eight: The Final Hour

Major Sadie Ford eyed the monitor closely. She had held off on the explosives long enough. Now if she waited any longer, the explosion might not have the desired effect.

Just as she was raising her hand, letting Captain Archer know that he would soon detonate the charges, the station shook and not only that, it groaned as well. A terrible groan that sounded as if the station itself was in pain, filled the air seconds before the lights went out.

"Captain, detonate the charges now!" Major Ford commanded, glancing back in the direction she knew the Captain to be in. A small click followed by a loud reverberating BOOM shook the entire room as bits of metal flew in all directions.

The resulting shockwave blew the officers back against the far wall, causing them all to smash in to it.

A few moments went by before the red laser eye pieces of the Borg could be seen in the darkness as they entered the room. Sadie had no idea if the explosion took out any or not; she hoped so but really what chance did they have against this massive horde?

Rising to her feet Sadie whipped out her rifle, pointing it at the approaching Borg horde.

"Ma'am! Captain Lowrey is injured!"

That voice had been Sergeant Rhodes. The sergeant's voice was calm but Sadie knew that the Sergeant was just as scared as she was.

Looking over in to the darkness Sadie could just barely see Sergeant Rhodes kneeling beside the injured Captain Lowrey.

While the Computer Core had many passages and means of escape, none of the doors would work because the station had no power, and no power means the only way out now was through the many Borg drones that were in front of them.

While it was possible to fight the Borg hand-to-hand, there were way too many for a fight like that to last very long and Sadie knew it as did the other officers.

Raising her weapon Sadie aimed it at the nearest Borg and fired. The blast from the rifle smacked in to the Borg causing it to shake, stumble back a few feet and then drop to the ground. A second later a shot from Captain Archer's rifle brought down two more Borg that had almost reached Rhodes and Lowrey.

However, by the time that Ford and Archer got off two more shots, the Borg had already adapted their personal shielding.

"Well..." Sadie began, it was then that she realized she didn't know what to say. What could she say that would make everything okay? They were about to either be killed or assimilated by Borg; how was this okay? In the back of her mind Sadie was really confused because she had seen the film _First Contact_ and she knew that the Borg were not supposed to be able to adapt to the early projectile weapons that she and her team were using, but even as she thought that, the truth was that the Borg in front of her had somehow adapted to those weapons, which basically left those weapons useless.

Tightening her grip on her phaser, Sadie glanced to the side to see that Captain Lowrey, Captain Archer and Sergeant Rhodes were now on their feet.

The look on their faces told Sadie that they all knew what was coming; there was no way around it really.

"We are with you Major." Captain Lowrey said. Nodding her head in acceptance of this fact, Sadie faced front. It was then that she wished she had her swords with her. She knew that she could have dealt a lot more damage with them, but the phaser would have to do.

Gritting her teeth Sadie ran at the Borg; from behind her she could hear the rest of her team following suit.

As she smashed the first Borg in the head with the hand grip of the phaser, Sadie's only hope was that Jason's team would fair better than her's.

Major McCallister and Major CarMichael stepped off of the lift, their phasers at the ready. They knew it was just a short walk to the generators. All they had to do was destroy them and then their job would be done. Of course it wasn't going to be that simple; they had to destroy the generator it time with Major Borodin and Captain Cafferey's destruction of the backup systems. If they weren't n sync then their plan might not work.

Rounding a corner, Nolan came to a screeching halt. Right in front of him was a Borg drone working on a console.

"You almost ran in to the bastard." Jason noted with slight amusement as he went past the drone.

"I'm not laughing." Nolan replied, letting Jason know that he wasn't amused with the remark. He didn't want to be assimilated just for running in to a stupid drone.

"Alright alright, come on. The generator is through here." Jason said, pointing to an open doorway. Nodding his head Nolan followed Jason through the doorway in to another chamber. There in the center of the room was a huge piece of equipment; Borg obviously. On the ceiling there were triangle shaped devices that looked like they fed power to the generator.

Reaching in to his pocket Nolan removed a small explosive device. Walking over to an alcove, he walked in to it. The alcove gave him just enough height to reach the ceiling where he planted two of the explosive devices. Off to the side Jason had already planted his charges on the main generator.

Once he was finished he turned to watch Nolan. "This is way too easy." He said after a moment.

Nolan who had just planted a third charge on a power conduit turned and looked at Jason. "I thought you said they'd ignore us until they considered us a threat."

"Yes but...I don't know. This just seems way too easy. I mean we really haven't encountered any resistance at all. Sure we have seen drones but none have tried to stop us." Jason replied.

Shaking his head Nolan turned and planted his last charge. "Be grateful for small ble..."

He was interrupted by the sound of something beaming in. Slowly he and Jason turned around to see ten Borg drones standing there in the entrance to the chamber, just watching them.

"Thanks for jinxing the whole thing..." Nolan muttered, hands going to his phaser.

"Lower your weapons, you will be assimilated." A voice said.

It hadn't come from the Borg drones but all around the Cube. Jason knew enough about the Borg to know that it was the Collective talking.

Spying a catwalk on the ceiling, Jason followed it with his eyes. Getting up there wouldn't be all that difficult. All they would need to do was climb an alcove, swing on a piece of rubber looking piping, grip the top of the generator device and from there they could haul themselves up on the catwalk. Of course from there they would have to find some way back down to the lift but at least it would get them out of danger.

"Nolan, when I tell you run for that alcove on your right." Jason said through the side of his mouth. Nolan looked slightly confused. He looked at the alcove and then at the ceiling. It was then that he understood what Jason was getting at. It would certainly be risky since there were two of them, but if they did it right they should both be able to make it.

Clearing his throat Jason took two steps forward, keeping his phaser at the ready.

"You can assimilate me...OVER MY DEAD BODY YOU ASSHOLES!" He said before he started firing his phaser at them.

Once he started firing he yelled "RUN!"

Nolan took no further encouragement. He ran at the alcove, leaping up on to the side plate before grabbing on to the piping. As quickly as he could he swung on it, reaching out for the top of the generator.

Hearing a yell down below, Nolan looked down just in time to see Jason get over run by several Borg.

"MAJOR!" Nolan yelled. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. Jason had been...no...it couldn't be true...could it?

In shock Nolan saw Jason drop to his knees, two holes on the side of his neck visible.

Nolan just hung there for several moments before his aching muscles told him he needed to finish the climb. Gripping the catwalk, he hauled himself up before collapsing on to it. This mission was a disaster; that's all there was to it.

Finally hauling himself to his feet Nolan watched the Borg drones haul Jason's form out of the room.

If they were in any other place and time Nolan would have gone after them but there were other people counting on him to see this thing through so Nolan did the only thing he could do. He reached in to his pocket and removed the detonator. Slowly he walked along the catwalk until he was a safe distance away before he detonated the explosives.


	10. Chapter Nine: Home Again Final

**Shadows and Darkness**

By

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Nine: Home Again

The sound of the explosion was deafening and the results just as shocking. One minute the lights of the Borg Cube were on, the next Major CarMichael found himself plunged in to darkness. Reaching out a hand, trying to find something to grab a hold of, Nolan felt nothing. He knew he was still on the catwalk, but he hadn't gotten a chance to get a good look around before he had pressed the button to detonate the explosives.

"_Major..."_

The voice was like a voice on the wind; faint yet persistent. As Nolan looked around, trying to find the person who spoke, the darkness yielded no help at all.

"_Major!"_

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Nolan demanded. As his voice seemed to echo around the Cube, Nolan grabbed his head. All of a sudden his head had begun to pound; evidence of a powerful migraine but where the hell had the migraine come from? Just a second ago he had felt fine!

Dropping to his knees Nolan clutched his head as the voice became yet more and more persistent!

"_Major! Major! Come on Major wake up!"_

Slowly the fog cleared. Nolan found himself laying on his side; his P-90 by his hip. As his gaze cleared further Nolan discovered that he wasn't on the Cube anymore, in fact the place he found himself in didn't resemble any room in a Borg Cube at all. The walls were of stone as was the floor.

Not ten feet behind him was a door, and up in front of him was a wall with a strange looking contraption that resembled a laser. Grunting, Nolan got to his feet and dusted himself off.

As he studied himself Nolan almost did a double take. He wasn't wearing the civilian clothing he'd been given on DS9 but his own SGC issue uniform, and what's more the uniform wasn't burned at all!

"Be still Major, you've got a nasty bump on your head." Sergeant Rhodes said as she tried to tend to Nolan's wound.

Nolan however looked slightly confused. "I...I don't understand. Was it all a dream?" He asked.

From off to the side, Major Borodin who bore a bandage on the side of his own head said, "I don't think so Major. If it was a dream then where's the Major and the Captain? Why didn't they return with us?"

"Perhaps they were taken before we woke up." Nolan guessed. It was a logical response, yet even so he doubted that it was so.

"Then where'd these come from?" Cypher asked. He dug in to a pocket in his uniform and withdrew his communicator. A quick study of everyone else's uniforms revealed that they all had their DS9 communicators as well.

Nolan shook his head before he allowed Sergeant Rhodes to bandage his head.

"Major Ford, what's the last thing you remember?" Nolan asked.

Sadie stepped forward, her own P-90 hanging from it's strap across her shoulder.

"We were defending the Computer Core. The Borg had broken through and we were fighting them hand-to-hand. All of a sudden I felt dizzy; must have fainted because the next thing I remember was waking up here. Everyone else was scattered all around the room; well...everyone except Major McCallister and Captain Cafferey. I got up and checked on everyone. Everyone seemed alright except Captain Lowrey who's suffering from some broken ribs and a sprained knee." Sadie said.

Nolan nodded his head as much as he dared before looking at Cypher.

"Major Borodin, what about you?" he asked.

Cypher folded his arms, the look on his face was one of shock and slight disbelief. It was clear that he didn't want to talk about it, yet Nolan was the higher ranking officer so if he requested something he got it.

"A few minutes after stepping out of the lift Captain Cafferey and I heard an explosion. We thought you and Major McCallister had already blown the generator so we both hurried to take out the backup systems. We found them and took them out but a few Borg drones beamed in behind us, blocking our escape back to the lift. Captain Cafferey came up with a way to get passed them but I...I was too slow. I injured my leg and would have been captured but Captain Cafferey came back for me. She was slowing them down, giving me time to get to the lift and call it down to our location. When I looked back she was fighting a Borg hand-to-hand. She managed to stun that drone but well...guess she forgot about the other one because he got her. Last I saw she was...starting to change." Cypher explained.

Nolan sighed and rubbed his face. Now things were beginning to make a little sense, at least where Major McCallister and Captain Cafferey were concerned. So, they weren't returned because they both had been assimilated? Plausible right?

"Come on Major, we need to get back to the Atrium. We only have fifteen minutes left before they lock us out." Sadie said. She hated to be the one to suggest that they leave without the Major and the Captain but really what could they do? It wasn't like they could easily find the two officers and if they did what then? At least one of them wasn't entirely human anymore, and from the look on Nolan's face Sadie believed that Major McCallister had born the same fate as Captain Cafferey.

"Alright Major, fine. We'll go back and report in. Major McCallister saved my life once and I'll be damned if I don't get the chance to return the favor. This isn't over yet!" Nolan said. His voice was even yet serious. He picked up the two extra P-90's off of the floor, knowing they had belonged to Jason and Sara. Shouldering the weapons he walked past Sadie and her team before heading towards the doorway that led back down to the Stargate; Cypher following at his heels.

_This isn't over yet..._

The words rang clear in Sadie's mind as she watched Major's CarMichael and Borodin leave the room.

"No...it never is, is it?" She muttered to herself, "Alright guys and gals, let's pack it up."

Once her team was ready they left the room. Sadie took point, with Captain Archer behind her. Sergeant Rhodes helped the injured Captain Lowrey who was having a time of it trying to walk on his own.

Upon reaching the Stargate Sadie dialed it up and sent the proper coding before nodding for her team to move out. Sergeant Rhodes and Captain Lowrey went first, followed by Captain Archer and Major Borodin.

When it was just Sadie and Nolan, Nolan looked at Sadie and said, "Go ahead Major. I'll be right behind you."

With a slid nod of her head Sadie walked up the steps and disappeared through the open wormhole of the Stargate.

Now being the last one in the room, Nolan took one last look around the place. A distress call, that's all it had taken to get them there and now they were going back home minus two members. That was the price they sometimes had to pay and yet...

Slowly Nolan faced front, took a deep breath and stepped through the Stargate.

This was a planet he wasn't soon to forget, and he doubted anyone else would soon forget it either. They had unfinished business; this wasn't over...they will be back.

**The End**

_Stay tuned for the sequel "Beyond the Night" coming soon._


End file.
